This invention relates generally to sweetness modification and more particularly to low-caloric compounds, particularly well suited as sweetness modifiers for edible material.
Sweetness is one of the primary taste cravings of both animals and humans. Thus, the utilization of sweetening agents in foods in order to satisfy this sensory desire is well established.
Naturally occurring carbohydrate sweeteners, such as sucrose, are still the most widely used sweetening agents. While these naturally occurring carbohydrates, i.e. sugars, generally fulfill the requirements of sweet taste, the abundant usage thereof does not occur without deleterious consequences, e.g. high caloric input. In fact, often times the level of these sweeteners required to satisfy taste in ingesta is far higher than that level of sweetener which is desired for economic, dietetic or other functional considerations.
In an attempt to eliminate the disadvantages concomitant with natural sweeteners, considerable research and expense have been devoted to the production of artificial sweeteners, such as for example, saccharin, cyclamate, dihydrochalcone, aspartame, etc. While some of these artificial sweeteners satisfy the requirements of sweet taste without caloric input and have met with considerable commercial success, they are not, however, without their own inherent disadvantages. For example, many of these artificial sweeteners have the disadvantages of high cost of production, as well as delay in perception of the sweet taste, persistent lingering of the sweet taste, and very objectionable bitter, metallic after-taste when used in food products.
Since it is believed that many of the disadvantages of artificial sweeteners, particularly after-taste, are a function of the concentration of the sweetener, it has been previously suggested that these effects could be reduced or eliminated by combining artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, with other ingredients or natural sugars, such as pectin, sorbitol, dextrose, maltose, etc. These combined products, however, have not been entirely satisfactory either. Some U.S. patents which disclose sweetener mixtures include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198, U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,068, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,862, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,477.
More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198 discloses a sweetening composition comprised of a protein sweetener, saccharin or cyclamate in combination with a sweetness modifier, namely arabinogalactan.
The patentee states that the arabinogalactan enhances the overall sweetness of the composition and reduces or eliminates the after taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,068 discloses a sweetener mixture having an improved saccharose-like taste consisting of acetosulfame and at least one sweetener from the group of aspartyl peptide esters, the sulfamate sweeteners, the sulfimide sweeteners and dihydrochalcone sweeteners.
Mixtures of artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin and the like, and neodiosmin are disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,862, to be of reduced bitterness and after taste while U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,477 discloses that the sweetening potency and taste of sodium saccharin are improved by the addition of small amounts of optically active D-tryptophan.
The use of sweetening agents in foods to provide functions other than sweetening, such as to act as fillers, bulking agents, antimicrobial agents, freezing point depressants, stabilizers, carriers, etc. is also well established. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,236 discloses the optional use of dextrose, in less than sweetening amounts, as a carrier to provide a more uniform distribution of a preserving composition in and on meat. The preserving composition comprises ascorbic acid, a compound selected from the group consisting of para-aminobenzoic acid, m-aminobenzoic acid, isonicotinic acid and N-ethyl-nicotinamide. Moreover, while J. Prakt. Chemie, Vol. 36, pp. 93-107 (1847) and Moncrieff, The Chemical Senses, pp. 252-253 (1944) disclose m-aminobenzoic acid to be sweet, the literature does not disclose or remotely suggest that this compound would be an excellent foodstuff sweetener, particularly when employed in combination with sweetening amounts of known natural and/or artificial sweeteners.
Other references disclose certain organic compounds to be sweet. Belitz et al., Sweet and Bitter Compounds: Structure and Taste Relationship, Food Taste Chemisty, ACS Symposium Series 115, Edited by James C. Bourdreau, pp. 93, 14-115 (1979) disclose m-aminobenzoic acid to have a threshold sweetness concentration of 8-10 millimoles/liter. This reference does not disclose or suggest that this compound would be an excellent foodstuff sweetener when employed in combination with sweetening amounts of know natural and/or artificial sweeteners.
Furthermore, it is well known that enormous quantities of sweeteners are utilized in beverages, particularly commercial soft drinks and dessert products, for example, gelatins. Since many of these beverages and desserts have an acidic pH, not only must the sweetener employed therein be acid stable, but it also must be effective under acid pH conditions. In the case of sweeteners such as sucrose and saccharin, it is known that sweetening potency is generally decreased in acidic systems. Thus, in these acidic products such as, for example, carbonated beverages, etc., it is necessary to utilize relatively large quantities of these sweeteners to achieve the desired level of sweetness. These large quantities of sweetner are often times far higher than the level of sweetener desired for economic, nutritional or other functional considerations.
In view of the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the use of known sweeteners, i.e., naturally occurring, artificial or combinations thereof, it becomes readily apparent that it would be highly desirable to provide a sweetness modifying agent which when added to foodstuffs can greatly reduce the level of deleterious sweetener normally required and concomitantly eliminate or greatly diminish the numerous disadvantages associated with prior art sweeteners.